Reading the Scriptures with Humility

I recall once hearing a protestant teacher quoting Psalm 37:25 ("I have not seen the righteous forsaken or his children begging bread"). He said that in his experience he had seen children of the righteous begging bread. Therefore, this verse of Scripture must be merely a metaphor and not literally true.

There are a number of problems with this method of interpretation. Let me explain them here below.

Firstly, who are "the righteous" that are referred to in the verse? Did the teacher have the correct interpretation of who the righteous were? If I think the "righteous" are those who live in California, and I see one of them begging, then that leads to a certain interpretation; but what if the actual "righteous" are something else?

Secondly, the (bigger) problem is that his interpretation of the passage of Scripture was based on his limited experience. If anyone in the world thinks that his personal experience is sufficient to interpret the very writings of the Almighty Creator of the Universe, then the level of pride in his heart is enough to give me the creeps. Personal experience (or as some refer to it "private interpretation") is never an appropriate foundation for interpreting Scripture.

Thirdly, the quick manner in which he said this verse of the Bible was a "metaphor" shows that he has very little respect for the Scripture. We cannot go through the Words of God and just pick and choose, "literal!" and "figurative!" based on our personal opinion (even if that opinion is well grounded). This method of interpretation has led to the development of more than one heretical cult being formed (Jehovah's Witnesses, Mormons, modern Judaism, etc.).

We all have read a verse of Scripture at one time or another and thought it hard to understand (after all, even Scripture says that Scripture is hard to understand!). Humility is the only right response to this experience. When we acknowledge our inabilities and admit to God (and men) that we do not know everything (oh my!), that is when we can be confident that God does know what the verse means, and in spite of our ignorance He can still communicate truth and grace through those very words that we do not understand (and that is amazing!). Do you believe that?